Book 1 in the League of Elder Series. When an enemy Black Hat is taken prisoner aboard Captain Davage's ship, the powerful Sisterhood of Light has every intention of executing her, to put her to a slow, painful death. That is what’s done to Black Hats, and no one dares challenge the Sisters’ authority. They are astounded when the Captain refuses to allow it. Using his Gift of Sight, Captain Davage has gotten a glimpse of the Black Hat’s face, and is shocked. She is the exact double of a beloved friend of his--a friend who is dead. Though no one but a Sister would ever willingly face a Black Hat and hope to survive, he enters her cell, determined to discover the truth.

Lord Belmont’s life ended in Clovis, in the impenetrable darkness beneath the ground where forbidden rites were once held. Lady Gwendolyn was his love, body and soul, and the Demon in Blue Light killed her. Every year, on the anniversary of Gwen’s death, he returns to Clovis to stand in the cold desolation, hearing the wind moan through the lonely passes, feeling her loss all over again. On this anniversary, he wasn’t alone in Clovis. He hears the noises rustling in the brush. He smells the raw river of Shadow tech. Then he sees it: The claws … The flicking tail … The maniacal, glittering eyes fixed on him … “I’ve been waiting for you,” it says in a grating voice as it attacks.

THE 3rd TURN OF THE SHADOW TECH GODDESS The quest of Paymaster Stenstrom spans the planes, taking a bizarre turn in the 3rd universe, as there he is not an affluent man but a woman in desperate circumstances. Lady Stenibelle is imprisoned for her role in the Seeker Affair, is penniless, and her House of Belmont-South Tyrol is on the verge of extinction. Her spirit broken, Stenibelle is resigned to perform her sentence without fuss, do as she is told, and fade away in obscurity. However, fate is not yet finished with her. Stenibelle is in the gaze of hidden benefactors with ulterior motives. People claiming to be her dear friends come forward, yet she does not know them. The Quests of the Shadow tech Goddess proceed, and she must discover the hero that lies within or face total oblivion. The disgraced 30th daughter of the House of Belmont will either be the final stake driven into its dying heart, or the ray of light that comes to save it and all else that follows.